New York files antitrust lawsuit against Intel

 

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Posted on 5 Nov 2009 at 13:00

Andrew Cuomo, New York's attorney general, has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Intel, following the lead set by antitrust regulators in Japan, South Korea and more recently Europe.

The lawsuit alleges that Intel violated New York state and federal anti-monopoly laws "by engaging in a worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct - revealed in emails - in order to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for microprocessors."

Intel has faced, and lost, similar cases in Japan, South Korea and Europe. The European Commission fined the chip giant a record 1.06 billion Euros for antitrust violations and later published details of how Intel broke European law.

Cuomo appears to be using similar evidence to European regulators, which focused on deals Intel had struck with PC makers and retailers, pressuring them into buying more Intel CPUs over arguably superior CPUs from AMD.

"Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," he said. "Intel's actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices. These illegal tactics must stop and competition must be restored to this vital marketplace."

Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy said that the chip giant will contest the lawsuit when he spoke to the New York Times. "Neither consumers, who have consistently benefitted from lower prices and increased innovation, nor justice are being served by the decision to file a case now," he said. "Intel will defend itself."

You can read the full statement and filing on the New York State Attorney General's website. It's the first formal antitrust case against Intel by a US government agency for more than ten years. The FTC is also conducting a separate investigation, which it started in 2008, but it is yet to start formal proceedings against the chip giant. However, how that New York has filed, it's increasingly likely that the FTC will also pursue Intel.

Author: Tim Smalley